Eastern Shanyue stationed a force of around two thousand soldiers at the boundary's Dayu Creek, with one Qi Cultivator in charge. During Mu Jiaoman's rule, there were over five thousand, but now, there were even fewer.
In comparison to the national strength of Eastern Shanyue and the power of the Li Family, this force was pitifully small. Perhaps Qi Mu never intended to resist when the Li Family advanced westward; having a Qi Cultivator for sending messages might have been sufficient.
Xu Gongming, under the orders of Li Yuanxiu, led the troops as the vanguard. He took one hundred soldiers to probe the situation but unexpectedly was greeted with a beaming smile from the approaching Shanyue general, who approached the battle array unguarded and exclaimed,
"Is the envoy from above coming? My king has already captured the fief, and we are here to welcome the Princess!"
